Hi friends! Ropa vieja is shredded beef and vegetables that look like a pile of old rags. In Spanish ropa vieja means “old clothes”, so it makes sense that the dish actually looks like a pile of colorful, old clothes! It’s traditionally made with flank or skirt steak that once cooked, is shredded. It’s a popular Cuban dish and was a staple at my house growing up. What I like most about this version of ropa vieja is that it’s made in the slow cooker. I love that I can put all my ingredients in first thing in the morning and by the time we’re ready to eat in the evening we have a flavorful meal! The house also ends up smelling FANTASTIC!
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To begin you’re going to cut your steak into four chunks and place into your crock pot. Cut your peppers and onion into strips and place on top of the meat along with 6 cloves of garlic and drained Spanish cocktail olives 
Put the meat back into the crock pot and give it a good stir before covering again. Allow it to cook for about 30 minutes more. During this time I typically make my sides which consist of cauliflower rice and steamed veggies. You can also serve the ropa vieja with smashed cauliflower (similar to mashed potatoes).
This easy and flavorful ropa vieja is made in your slow cooker. It's grain free, gluten free, dairy free and refined sugar free. It is also SCD, Paleo and Whole 30 compliant.
- 2 lbs flank steak
- 1 green bell pepper, cut into 1/4 " strips
- 1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/4" strips
- 1 small Spanish onion, thinly sliced
- 3 cups tomato sauce
- 5 ounces pitted Spanish cocktail olives, drained
- 1/2 Tbsp cumin
- 1 Tbsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 6 garlic cloves
- salt and pepper to taste
Place crock pot on low setting. Cut flank steak into 4 chunks and place in crock pot.
Add sliced peppers, onions, garlic and drained olives to the crock pot.
In a small bowl combine tomato sauce, cumin and oregano. Pour over beef and vegetables. Use tongs to ensures beef is covered in the sauce mixture. Cover crock pot and allow to cook for 7 1/2 hours.
When there is 30 minutes left of cook time take the chunks of beef out of the crock pot and use two forks to shred. Return shredded beef to crock pot and stir until all the beef is covered in sauce. Cover and allow to cook for 30 minutes longer.
Serve with your choice of sides.
* The calories calculated in this recipe are just an estimate.
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I love the that there are olives in this dish. They must give it such an unique taste.
I love how it is loaded with veggies and the meat looks soooo tender. Love the name too lol old clothes stew
I love coming home to a tasty meal! I’m getting back on the healthy food band wagon and I’l putting this in my meal plan asap
This looks so mouthwatering and perfect for a keto, low carb diet. I want to try it in the Instant Pot and see how it goes. Thanks so much!
Thanks Yvonne! I think I’m going to have to bite the bullet and invest in an Instant Pot! If you try out the recipe I’d love to hear how it went.
I’m not a fan of olives, but I love everything else about this dish! I’m going to have to try this out
My daughter isn’t a big olive fan either and just happily picks them out and eats the rest! If you try it I hope you enjoy!
All this time I never knew ropa vieja meant old clothes. Ha! That makes me like this dish even more now.
Haha! It’s such an odd name but oh my is it delicious!
I love flank steak but never ever thought to use in a crock pot but it totally makes sense since flank typically is a tougher cut. Thanks for the inspiration I will have to give this a try!
No problem, hope you enjoy!